OLDS — Ronan Seeley of Olds has a second chance this August to show what he can do on junior hockey’s biggest stage – the World Junior Hockey Championships.
International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif announced last week that the World Juniors will be re-held in the middle of August this year in Alberta.
The tournament, scheduled to be held over the Christmas period in Edmonton and Red Deer, was cancelled just four days after it began, due to COVID concerns.
"It will be a new competition, which means we forget the results (from last December),” Tardiff said.
Tardif also said teams participating in the tournament will use the same rosters they had in December, even if some of those players turn 20 before the tournament begins. In Seeley’s case, he’s 19.
Seeley was doing well in the December tournament. He obtained up two assists during Canada’s 11-2 thrashing of Austria and logged some significant ice time in that game.
The left-shooting defenceman is a co-captain of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League and played minor hockey in Olds before going on to play midget AAA hockey in Red Deer and Lethbridge.
He was picked by the Carolina Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL draft (208th) and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the ‘Canes last September.
Tardif also said the under-18 women's tournament, scheduled to be held in Sweden last September will be held in June in the "in the north of the USA," but he didn’t say exactly where.
